


The Babysitting Chronicles

by sithgem



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Alternate Universe - Punk, Babysitting, Comedy, Cousins, Gen, Hide and Seek, Hostage Situations, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Junko, Slurs, Tongue Piercings, Trans Komaeda, alcohol mention, chapter 9 has, i guess?? junko's into some pop punk and ko wears a band t-shirt so, i like writing komaeda and junko as relatives idk, i'll add more tags as i go along if i have to, if i want to add that in bc trans ko is mhmhmhmhm, it's one and it's very brief but forewarning, maybe also, played for comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-06-08 01:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6833047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sithgem/pseuds/sithgem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Junko’s going out of town with Mikan and Mukuro for the night. Unfortunately, it forgot to tell its bosses that it wasn’t going to be babysitting their kids. So, like a responsible adult, it asks its cousin, Komaeda, to babysit for it. Calamity ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Junko finished putting on its mascara, blowing its reflection in the mirror a kiss. It wore a skin-tight red dress with knee-high, black boots. Its hair was done up in a single, swirly ponytail that it poofed up with its hand before walking out.

“You girls ready?” It asked.

Mukuro, who decided to throw on their dad’s old suit for convenience, looked up from tying up her boots and gave a thumbs up. Mikan, who sat beside her in a longer, purple dress and lacy stockings in heels, blushed furiously upon seeing Junko and nodded. Junko checked its long, red nails again just to make sure they hadn’t chipped and laughed. 

“Alright, we’re ready to go,” it took her phone from the bedside and put it into its bag. “Tonight, we drink like queens.”

Mukuro and Mikan gave a little cheer and headed out with it into the car.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It had been thirty minutes since they got into the car and already, Mukuro was regretting coming along in the first place. The only real reason was to make Junko happy, but now that it was blaring its outdated pop punk music, she was really reconsidering if this was worth it. 

Mikan sat in the front seat with Junko, singing along with it as Mukuro was flipping through her phone for something to distract her. Then, the music stopped and Junko’s ringtone boomed through the car speakers. After a second of volume adjustment, Junko pressed the accept call button on the touch screen.

“It’s Junko,” it began. “What’s up?”

“Junko?” the voice on the other end asked. “It’s me. Takuichi Towa.”

Junko froze. Shit. _Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit **Shit.**_

“ _Heeey_ , boss!” Junko forced out. “Why are you calling?”

“I was wondering where you were,” Takuichi replied. “Haiji did call you to babysit Monoka and the kids tonight, right?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’ve got plans right now,” Junko said. 

“It’s a little short notice to be saying this to me,” Takuichi sounded like he was getting angry. “I have a very important business meeting in an hour, and I can’t have you cancelling on me now.”

“Listen I-!” Junko got a terrible idea. “I can send someone over.”

“Really?” Takuichi asked. “Can you be sure they’ll keep them all safe?”

“Absolutely!” Junko lied. “He’ll be right over! I’ll send you a picture so you can make sure.”

“... Very well,” Takuichi complied. “If you suppose he’s fit, I’ll accept him. Just make sure to send that photo, and I want him here within the hour.”

“Got it,” Junko said. “Have a good night, Mr. Towa.”

“To you as well.” Takuichi hung up.

“So who’s the guy you’re sending to Towa’s place?” Mukuro asked.

“The least fit person to babysit that I know,” Junko gave its phone to Mikan and asked her to dial his number.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here he is. The boy. This chapter's super short but ehh

Komaeda lied down on Chiaki’s bed, watching her and Hinata play Mario Kart on their DS’s. He felt his tongue piercing against the roof of his mouth and pushed his long bangs out of his eyes. Chiaki was wearing her usual comfy clothes, splayed out on the bean bag chair while Hinata tried desperately to get in front of her car. He wore a simple white undershirt with green and yellow checkered pants and frequently elbowed Chiaki in the arm to get her to lose focus. It didn’t work.

“Nanami, I swear to god, you’re cheating.” Hinata growled as he was hit into fourth place. Chiaki swerved Peach to the mushroom platforms and bounced off of them.

“What cheat codes are there for Mario Kart?” she asked. 

“That’s shit you’d know.” Hinata threw a shell at Bowser only for it to hit the wall and bounce back at him, now putting him in sixth place. He grunted.

“You’re so bad at this,” Chiaki noted. 

“I didn’t notice.” Hinata drove through a question block. When it was done spinning, it showed a coin. “This is such bull!”

“You sure you don’t wanna join in after this game, Nagito?” Chiaki asked, entering the final lap. Komaeda smirked, pushing himself up against the wall.

“Yeah,” he replied. “I like watching anyways.” 

“Long as you’re not miserable man,” Chiaki yawned. 

Hinata turned the corner into another block, this time rolling a blue shell. Chiaki locked eyes with him.

“Don’t you dare,” she whispered.

“You’re fucking _dead_ , Nanami!” Hinata released the shell and blew up Chiaki’s car right before she reached the finish line. She ended up in second place where as Hinata moved only to fourth.

“Fuck you and everything you stand for, Hajme,” Chiaki closed her screen.

“You still beat me!” Hinata exclaimed.

They were interrupted by Komaeda’s phone buzzing in his ripped skinny jeans. He took it out of his pocket. His eyes bulged when he saw the number.

“Question,” he began. “If I received a call from a certain someone I didn’t know had my number, should I accept it?”

“Well, do you know said someone?” Chiaki asked.

“Follow up question,” Komaeda continued. “If that certain someone is my cousin who’s number I thought I blocked the second I learned of it, should I accept it?”

“ _Junko’s_ calling you?” Hinata asked. “Don’t answer it.”

“I’m gonna answer it.”

“If you don’t want to put up with her, you don’t have to-”

“Enoshima, how did you get my number?” Komaeda put the phone to his ear before Hinata could finish.

“I memorized it after you made me buy another one for you,” Junko said on the other line. 

“I did that like two years ago,” Komaeda said. “And if you just wanted to call to say ‘hi’, I’m hanging up.”

“Wait!” Junko shouted. “Wait... I’m gonna sound pathetic for this.”

“I’d love to hear that,” Komaeda growled. 

“Listen! I’m going out with Mukuro and Mikan to the city for some drinks. Can you babysit the Towa’s kid and her friends?”

“How about I don’t do anything for you and you can do your job yourself.”

“I’ve been planning this night for a week, Nagito. I can’t put it off. _Please!_  I’ll do anything.”

“Will you die?”

“You’re hilarious, Komaeda. I’m laughing my fucking ass off.”

“You know, with language like that, I might just hang up on you mid-sentence.”

“Nagito, I swear to god, I’ll pay you back. You can have my night’s pay!”

Komaeda looked over to Hinata and Chiaki, then sighed.

“Delete my number and never ask me to help you out again,” he said.

“Is that a yeeeees?” Junko asked playfully.

“This is the one thing I’m ever doing for you for the rest of my life, Enoshima,” Komaeda growled. 

“Oh, thank you, Nagito! You’re the best! Love you!”

“Yeah.” Komaeda hung up. He got off of the bed and threw on his leather jacket.

“Where are you going?” Hinata asked.

“To Towa’s place,” Komaeda pulled his hair into a pony tail. “Junko forgot it had to babysit tonight, so it’s dumping them on me.”

“Stay safe,” Chiaki said, leaning over to watch him. “Don’t get jumped.”

“I won’t,” Komaeda opened the door. “See you guys tomorrow.” 

He closed the door behind him and headed out to his car.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spoiler: komaeda is very not good at babysitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we get two short chapters and one that took me two days to finish. i am truly the most coherent writer of all time.

Komaeda pulled up to the Towa residence a little over half an hour later. He pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and texted Hinata and Chiaki that he'd made it safely. He walked up the stairs to the door and rang the bell. After a moment's wait, a younger man with short, brown hair and a brown suit opened the door. He eyed Komaeda suspiciously.

"You're certainly the boy from the photograph," he muttered. "You don't exactly look... morally upstanding, to say the least."

"Yeah," Komaeda agreed.

"May I ask you a few questions? Just to clarify a few things," Takuichi asked.

"Sure," Komaeda complied.

"Do you have any prior experience to taking care of children?"

"Little to none, Mr. Towa." Takuichi squinted at him.

"Do you believe yourself to be well-equipped to handle children of Monoka's age group?"

"Depends on your definition."

"Of?"

"Well-equipped."

"Right... Are you really the only person Junko could have sent?"

"If it asked me, I'm its last resort."

Takuichi sighed, "Well, it's not like I can hire anyone else now. And at the very least you're honest. Fine. Come in."

Komaeda walked past him and into the living room. The space looked cozy enough. There was a large, fluffed up couch in front of a television and a rug with three green and white rings. The walls were a pastel lime color with bookshelves, dressers, and a large toy box lined along them. There was a white archway at the far end of the room that led into a kitchen and dining area and a stairway to the right that Komaeda could see, leading up to the second floor.

"Monoka!" Takuichi called. “Nagisa! Masaru! Kotoko! Jataro! Come down!”

Then, from the second floor, four children stampeded into the room and immediately ran up to him, three boys and one girl. They stared up at him with judgemental glares. Komaeda shifted his feet.

“You’re not Bis Sis Junko,” the boy with brown hair said.

“Thankfully, no,” Komaeda replied.

“Is Monoka still in her room?” Takuichi asked.

“She’s napping!” the girl announced.

“Fine,” he complied. Takuichi pointed to the children in the order in which they came down, the red-haired boy, the baggy clothed kid, the girl, and the emotionless-looking one. “This is Masaru, Jataro, Kotoko, and Nagisa. Monoka’s in her room sleeping, if you couldn’t pick that up. She shouldn’t be much trouble.” Takuichi turned to the children. “This is Nagito Komaeda. He’ll be your babysitter for the night.”

  
“Why can’t Junko supervise us?” the emotionless one, Nagisa, asked. “It’s proven itself more than competent to take care of us.”

“Junko’s out on the town tonight, from what it told me,” Takuichi explained. “I… hope that Mr. Komaeda can suffice.”

“Just call me Nagito,” Komaeda said. “I mean, I don’t really care, but it just doesn’t sound right to me. Being called ‘Mister’.” Takuichi sighed.

“Fine,” he said. “You all be good. I’ll see you in the morning.” Takuichi opened the door and slipped out.

Komaeda turned to the kids, all staring up at him, observing him.

“So-”

“Don’t speak,” Nagisa interrupted him. “You have no authority over us.”

“Wh-”

“What did I just say?” Nagisa asked. “You will not speak unless spoken to, do you understand me?”

Komaeda nodded, slowly. He wasn’t expecting this. But he’d play into their little game if it got him through the night faster.

“From henceforth, you will be referred to as Servant,” Nagisa continued. “And you will be our slave until the day you die.”

“He means until you have to leave,” Jataro whispered to Komaeda.

“Alright, Servant it is,” Komaeda replied.

“Servant is such an adorbs name!” Kotoko squealed.

“It’s not a name!” Nagisa shouted. “It’s a title! To show him his place.”

“Hey, Servant,” Jataro pulled on Komaeda’s sleeve. “Can we have some cookies?”

“Don’t _ask_ him for things!” Nagisa looked about ready to pull his hair out. “You order him to get it for you!”

“But that’s not nice,” Jataro said.

“It’s not _supposed_ to be nice!” Nagisa yelled. “He’s below us!”

“I can get some cookies,” Komaeda shrugged.

“Mr. Towa keeps it on the top shelf in the kitchen,” Masaru finally spoke. “We can’t reach it, but you’re super tall. _Pleeeease_ can you get it?”

“Sure.” Komaeda moved past them into the kitchen. He overheard Nagisa bickering with the other kids but decided against eavesdropping. He looked around the kitchen at the marble countertops and sleek, wooden floors and whistled. Komaeda opened up one of the cupboards and spotted the huge glass jar of cookies on the top shelf. He had to stand on his tip-toes to reach it. That was funny. He thought Takuichi was shorter than him.

Komaeda felt something brush against his thigh. He spun around, nearly dropping the jar to see Kotoko already waiting behind him.

“Hey, Servant,” she began, “when we’re done with the cookies, can you come up to my room? I wanna show you something.”

“I don’t see why not,” Komaeda said. Kotoko cheered, giving Komaeda’s leg a little hug. Komaeda tensed up.

“Thank you, Servant!” She beamed, skipping back into the living room. Komaeda followed her and set the jar of cookies down on the ottoman. Nagisa rolled his eyes.

“Certainly took you long enough,” he muttered.

The four kids each took a cookie from the jar and started eating. Komaeda sat down on the couch arm and watched them, as he assumed babysitters did. Jataro looked at the cookie jar and held out one to Komaeda.

“You want one?” He asked.

“Don’t offer him anything!” Nagisa exclaimed. “He can’t eat our food.”

“Why not?” Jataro asked.

“Because-! You know what? I’m not even going to bother. Just don’t offer him food.” Jataro crossed his arms and pouted.

“Servant,” Masaru called. “How old are you? You look old.”

“I’m 19,” Komaea replied. “And thanks.”

“You’re older than Bis Sis Junko,” Kotoko commented.

“Yeah, I am,” Komaeda said.

“But why do you have white hair?” Masaru asked. “You look _really_ old.”

“Well, why’s your hair red?” Komaeda crossed his legs.

Masaru opened his mouth to speak, then shut it.

“How do you know Big Sis Junko?” Kotoko asked. “Are you it’s boyfriend?”

“ _No!_ ” Komaeda exclaimed _._ “It’s my cousin!”

“Ooooh!” Kotoko hummed. “Yeah, that’d be so not adorbs if you were Junko’s boyfriend.”

Komaeda tried fixing his hair to distract himself from vomiting at the question.

“How old are you guys?” He asked to regain his composure.

“Did I or did I not say that you cannot speak unless spoken to?” Nagisa asked.

“Yeah!” Jataro loudly agreed. He leaned over to Komaeda, whispering, “Hey, Servant, can you ask us how old we are again?” Nagisa groaned distressfully. Komaeda repeated his question.

“We’re all 10!” Jataro said proudly. “But Monoka’s 11. She’s really smart.”

“That’s cool,” Komaeda said. Kotoko finished her cookie and then jumped up, tugging on Komaeda’s arm.

“Servaaant!” Kotoko whined. “Come oooon!”

“You’re already done eating?” Komaeda asked.

“Yeah,” Kotoko put a hand on her hip. “Eating too much makes you so not adorbs.” She tugged on his arm again. “Let’s gooooo!”

Komaeda put on a smile and let her drag him up the stairs to the second floor.

There were four rooms, connected by the hallway in front of the landing. Each door was painted a different color; pink, blue, red, and one door that had chipping brown paint that looked admittedly ugly against the rest of the colors. Kotoko pulled Komaeda into the pink door and pushed him inside.

Kotoko’s room was predictably pink, filled to the brim with giant stuffed animals and toys. There was an entire corner of the room with pictures of her at shows where she danced.

“This isn’t your house, is it?” Komaeda asked.

“Nope!” Kotoko replied. “But Monoka’s dad let’s us stay over during the week. Our parents let us, don’t worry.”

“So what did you want to show me?” Komaeda asked.

Kotoko gestured for him to sit down on her bed as she dug around in her pile of giant stuffed animals. Then, she pulled out a straggly doll that contrasted the big, fluffy animals surrounding it. It was old, raggedy and in horrible condition. It had long, white strands of strings for hair, button eyes and a sewn on smile. It wore a tattered piece of cloth that Komaeda couldn’t tell was a shirt or a dress or something else entirely.

“Oh.” Komaeda stared at it. “Who’s this?”

“ I dunno,” Kotoko shrugged. “My mom gave it to me when I was a baby. Anything from her is super adorbs to me, but to be honest, I think this one’s really ugly.” Kotoko put the doll in Komaeda’s hands. “It reminds me of you.”

“Oh.”

“Servant!” Masaru’s voice came from downstairs. “Come down! _Now_!”

Komaeda and Kotoko ran down the stairs together and raced into the living room.

“Oh…no.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> junko gets a phone call and, oh boy things could not have gone worse for its sit-in and by god if it isn't amused

Junko was well into the night, downing its... fourth... fifth drink at the club? It stopped counting at two. It looked back onto the dance floor and almost choked on its vodka as it watched Mikan, totally wasted, laughing and dancing with as much grace and dignity as you would expect from a girl who was drunker than a monkey. Mukuro sat next to it, watching and making sure Mikan didn't get herself into too much trouble.

"You sure you don't wanna drink, sis?" Junko asked. "Stuff's pretty good here."

"I have to stay sober so I can drive you two home," Mukuro replied.

"We can always hire an uber driver," Junko stirred its finger around its drink. "Have some fun! It's a party!"

"I don't much care for these kinds of parties, Junko," Mukuro growled. 

"You're always such a buzzkill," Junko twirled a strand of its hair with its free hand, faking a mope. "Why do I even bring you along to my nights out with Mikan?"

Just then, Junko felt a buzz in its purse pocket. It turned it on and looked at the caller ID. It smirked. 

"Couldn't handle a couple kids, huh, Nagito?" Junko asked. It slid the phone on and held it to its ear.

"Hello~?" Junko called.

"Hey, Big Sis Junko!" 

"... Masaru?" Junko recognized his voice. "What are you doing with Komaeda's phone?"

"Who?" Masaru asked. "Oh! You mean Servant. Well, we're holding him for ransom."

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah! You come here and play with us, and we let him go. Otherwise, we kill him."

"I'd actually really like that."

"I can hear you, Enoshima!" Komaeda's voice echoed in the background. 

"Oh, Nagito!" Junko beamed. "How are the kids?"

"They tied me. To a _FUCKING **CHAIR**!_ " Komaeda screamed.

"That's weird. Usually, they only do that to the pizza guy."

"This isn't funny, Junko!"

"Really? Because I find this hilarious."

"Get them away from me!"

"You have 24 hours to deliver the ransom money," Masaru spoke again. "Uh, I mean. You. You have 24 hours to come over."

There was a scuffle from the other end, what sounded like Nagisa and Masaru fighting over who got the phone. There was a loud crash and a squeal from Kotoko when Nagisa sighed. 

"Just come over," he said. "Servant is so boring to play with, and he's _so_ annoying." 

"That's fair," Komaeda admitted. 

"Well, I'm sorry, you guys," Junko said. "I'm out with my friends right now. I love all of you very much and want to come over as fast as I can. But I promised them I'd go with them to this place. And... I'm not exactly in the right state of mind to watch you kids now."

"Awww..." Masaru sulked in the background. 

"Why can't they come, too?!" Kotoko took the phone now. "They'd have so much fun with us! More fun that Servant, at least."

"I agree that Nagito is a pain in the a - butt," Junko began, "but I can't spend all my time with you kids. You should know that. So you'll just have to tolerate him. I've tolerated him for 18 years. I'm sure you can handle him for one night."

"So do we have to untie him now?" Masaru asked. 

"That's the morally correct thing to do," Junko said. "So no."

There was a cheer from Masaru and Kotoko. 

"There's no point in keeping him tied up if Junko's not coming over," Nagisa reasoned. "Untie him."

"You're not the leader here!" Masaru shouted. 

"Well, now I am the leader!" Nagisa countered. 

"Kids, I love you, but can you two figure this out after you hang up?" Junko asked. "Wait! Is Monoka there with you?"

"She's napping," Kotoko said. 

"Well, when she's awake, let me know, dears," Junko smiled. "Have a good night!"

"You, too, Big Sis Junko!" The kids called. 

"Bye!" Junko hung up.

"What did they do?" Mukuro asked. 

"What I could only dream of doing, my dear Mukuro," Junko hummed, sipping from its drink. "What I could only dream."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aa it's been a while. sorry this is a short chapter too i'm tired and gay so bye


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i just wanted to get something posted. i don't really know what to say

Masaru got done untying the last knot of rope around Komaeda's wrists. Komaeda quickly whipped away from all of them, rubbing the rope burn on his joints. The anger of the situation had blown over as he was being untied. Now, he was more focused on how these kids were able to incapacitate him. He went down the stairs with Kotoko after Masaru had called him down. He was holding a baseball bat with a broken vase at his side. Komaeda sighed, exasperated, and did what he assumed responsible adults did and told him that breaking expensive looking things could get him in trouble. He bent down to clean in up, and the next thing he knew, the kids were above him, a lamp shining in his eyes.

"Where's Big Sis Junko?" Masaru said with a scowl, like a child mimicking a cop they saw on TV.

"What are you... What did you kids do?!" Komaeda shouted.

"We have ways of making you talk," Kotoko sneered.

That's when Komaeda stopped to think. They thought this was a game. This was part of their little role-play. Role-play was presumably normal for kids their age. But this was... unnerving. Almost his kind of unnerving, if not for the clear malicious influence of Junko in this whole ordeal. Therefore, it disturbed him. And he needed to get free.

"Let me go," he told them. Nagisa slapped him hard across the face. Surprisingly, he was strong enough to hurt him.

"Answer us, Servant!" Nagisa ordered. "We know you took our Big Sister!"

Komaeda... wasn't following. What had they decided when he was knocked out? Did they already plan to interrogate him as though he were a criminal before he was there? Did they just not understand what make-believe was? No. They clearly knew how to do that at least, calling him Servant and all. This was all a game to them. But what exactly was the part he was supposed to play? Had he done something to Junko? But what was he supposed to have done? Did he kill it? That’d be nice. Was he supposed to figure it out by himself and lead this? So many options. But he wasn't going to bother following it. He didn't play other people's games. He made them. And he hated being tied up like this.

For the following twenty minutes or so, Komaeda and the kids fought for control of the discussion. That's when Masaru took Komaeda's phone from his pocket and typed in Junko's phone number and called it. How this connected to the role-play, he didn't know. That is, until Masaru asked Junko to come over. Then, he realized. He wasn't supposed to play along. They just wanted Junko to come and babysit them. They truly despised him. That was something he could relate to.

Now that he was free, he looked down at the kids and noticed that they looked more sad than anything else. Maybe not even that. Disappointment, probably, but they certainly weren’t relishing in their actions.

“Eh, we’ll find other ways to use you,” Masaru looked up at Komaeda.

“Use me?” Komaeda asked.

“Well, you are our servant,” Nagisa said. “It’s only fitting that you suit your purpose.”

Back to this again. Alright. Komaeda’d… try to put up with this again.

“What do you want me to do?” he asked.

Jataro finally spoke up, “Can you help me out with my arts and crafts project?! I can usually do that stuff on my own, but I need someone to test it out on!”

Komaeda looked down at him, speculatively. Then, he sighed and let Jataro tug him out of the room. Before he shut the door, Komaeda noticed Kotoko giggling in the corner. Whatever Jataro was planning for him, it didn’t look like it would work out in his favor.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boyyyyy....... ohhhh boy!!

Turns out the place they kept Komaeda in was just a small room off of Takuichi's bedroom. Never a good thing to have.

Jataro led Komaeda down the hall and up the stairs through the brown painted door. The room was messy, cluttered, and small. You could barely make out the outline of a bed underneath the piles of trash that was stacked on top. Scrapbooks and art supplies littered the floor. The walls had paper cut-outs of the other kids lined along them. Paint was splattered in the spaces where there was nothing. There was also something that looked like a desk underneath a mountain of clothes.

Jataro ran inside and dug through the trash, muttering some things to himself. Komaeda stayed in the doorway, feeling a crawling sensation run up his spine. He tensed.

“Do you… ever clean your room, Jataro?” Komaeda asked.

“It’s easier for me to find stuff this way,” Jataro replied, tossing something back at him. Komaeda backed up, trying to keep his composure. Jataro hummed, “‘nd I guess it just feels better to be around stuff like me.”

Komaeda looked back around the room. _Garbage_ , he thought. _He thinks he’s garbage… Oh._

Jataro made a noise of excitement and stood back up. He pulled Komaeda inside and pushed the trash off of his bed, falling to the floor with a loud crash. Komaeda cringed as he sat down on the bed. Jataro held something behind his back.

“Close your eyes,” he said. “Please.”

Komaeda gave him one final glare of distrust, then shut his eyes

 

* * *

 

Now, Komaeda had had his fair share of waking up that night with no recollection of going to sleep, but this was getting excessive.

Above him stood Jataro, giggling, his sleeves pressed against his cheeks. Komaeda squinted at first, then widened his eyes.

“What,” he began, “did you do to me?”

Jataro paused, stammering. Komaeda bolted straight up and marched out to the bathroom. He turned on the light and stood in front of the mirror. He screamed.

“ ** _JATARO_ **!”

There was a yelp from a room over and the sound of several tiny footsteps running towards him. Komaeda looked down at the kids in a white, blinding fury. Masaru and Kotoko puffed up their cheeks, muffling their laughter.

“Where’s the little runt that did this to me?!” Komaeda shouted. “The one who drew on my _fucking_ **_FACE_ **?!”

Jataro slowly inched out from his room.

“Hi, Servant…” He whispered. Komaeda looked at his big brown eyes and sighed, putting his hand over his face.

“Is this permanent marker?” He asked, making his voice as icily calm as possible.

“No…” Jataro didn’t look Komaeda in the eye. He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth and bore daggers into Jataro’s chest.

“You,” he growled, “are _so_ lucky that I don’t know how to be an authority figure without suggesting death.” He turned to the other kids with a scowl. “I’m going to try to wash this off. If I blackout _one more time_ tonight I am…” He tried to think of something that could threaten them. “... Calling your parents.”

“Did Mr. Towa even give you their phone numbers?” Kotoko asked.

“No he did not,” Komaeda turned around and started into the bathroom.

“Why’s everybody yelling?”

Komaeda and the kids turned around to the staircase to the sound of a tiny, whispering voice. But nobody was there.

“This house isn’t haunted, is it?” Komaeda asked.

“Monaka’s sleepy. Can you please be quiet?”

The kids rushed down the stairs, cooing with affection. Komaeda chased after them and looked to the foot of the staircase. There, sitting in a wheelchair was a girl with green hair and black stockings. She had a red ribbon on her head and wore a nightgown with black and white stripes. She yawned, stretching out her arms as the kids circling her, petting her gently and begging forgiveness.

“Oh, Monaka, we’re so, so sorry we woke you up!”

“We’ll be quiet! We promise!”

  
“Please don’t be mad at us, Monaka! We love you!”

  
“Yeah! We all love you very much, Monaka!”

The girl rubbed her eyes, drowsy, then looked up to see Komaeda. She blinked. Then, she smiled.

“Are you Big Sis Junko’s friend?” She asked. “Monaka’s dad said he was going out and leaving us with a babysitter. Are you it’s replacement?”

Komaeda hesitated, “... Yeah. I’m Nagito Komaeda.”

“Servant,” Nagisa turned around and growled. He froze, then snapped back to the girl, smiling bashfully. “H-his name is Servant.” The girl smiled again and wheeled herself closer to him.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Servant!” She clapped. “Monaka’s name is Monaka. I’ll be looking forward to you babysitting us.” She turned around, almost running over Masaru’s feet. “Hm… Monaka doesn’t think she’s sleepy anymore!” She turned back around, this time actually running over Masaru’s feet. He let out a silent scream, clutching his toes. “Mr. Servant, why do you have all that stuff on your face?”

Komaeda shot a glare at Jataro. Monaka followed his gaze and let out an “Oooohhhh.”

“Nice work, Jataro!” She laughed.

“What?” Komaeda asked.

“You look very pretty like that, Mr. Servant!” Monaka looked over to him. “I think Jataro did a great job. Even if he is worthless in everyone else’s eyes, even mine sometimes, he’s got the skill of an artist!”

Jataro curled his finger through a strand of his hair.

“Dawww… You’re just saying that!” He blushed.

“Mmm. Yeah. I am,” Monaka turned back around to Komaeda. “You actually look really ugly. God knows what you look like without that marker all over your face!”

Komaeda paused. He took a knee in front of her and smiled, pinching her cheek.

“Well, aren’t you just a little spawn of Satan?” He cooed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaa sorry for not updating in like a week i haven't been able to access docs or this site for a couple days to work on this but here you go! also, pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've written so far!

Komaeda had been scrubbing his face in the bathroom mirror for what he could only assume to have been twenty minutes. He’d let the little demon child keep an eye on the kids while he was gone. They seemed scared enough of her. Long as she didn’t mess anything up for the night, he was in the clear. The worst was probably over.

But if there was one thing Komaeda knew, it was that with him, it could always get worse. And get worse, it did.

When Komaeda left the bathroom, the red circle drawn around his eye and the cat whiskers lining his cheek still smudged into his skin, he was startled to note that none of the kids had made any noise while he was in there. And they were nowhere to be found.

“Kids?” Komaeda called down the stairs. No answer. He walked out of the room. “Kids? Monaka? Jataro? Kotoko? Masaru? Nagisa?” He walked out into the living room. He muttered to himself, “Where are you, you little shits?”

Komaeda heard a snicker come from the couch behind him. He turned around and sighed. “Hide and seek?”

“Yeah!” Jataro’s voice came from somewhere else in the house. There was a loud shushing and a bang. Jataro groaned in pain. Komaeda gave a tiny smirk.

“This is a rather sudden shift in mood, isn’t it?” He wondered out loud. “Ah, but if this is the game you want to play, I’ll have you know that I’m a regional hide and seek champion. I’ve never been found when I’m the one hiding.”

There was a creek from the same couch. Komaeda walked towards it, making sure whoever was there knew he was coming.

“But I must say,” he grinned. “I’m an even better-” he quickly peered over the top, “ ** _Seeker_ **!”

Kotoko squealed, hitting her head against the wall. Komaeda started cackling, clutching his chest to contain himself. He howled with laughter, holding onto the arm of the couch, trying in vain to catch his breath. Holding her forehead, Kotoko stood up and shot him a sour glare.

“You scared me!” She exclaimed. Komaeda, still grinning from ear to ear, looked up at her.

“Yeah,” he said. “And it was hilarious.” Kotoko growled and scooted out from behind the couch. She bonked Komaeda on the top of the head.

“Ow!” He fell back, rubbing the spot where she hit. Kotoko smirked.

“Now that,” she stood on her tip-toes, “was hilarious.”

Komaeda looked at her for a moment before melting into a tiny smile.

“You’re a good kid,” he admitted. Kotoko bounced on her heels.

“I know.”

Komaeda let out a breathy chuckle. He looked around the room.

“I’ll give you an extra cookie if you tell me where the rest of them are.”

“Make it two and add five dollars.”

“Deal.”

“Jataro’s in Mr. and Mrs. Towa’s room under the bed. Masaru’s there with him. Nagisa went hiding behind the bookcase in his room, and Monaka..." Kotoko looked around. “... I dunno where Monaka hid, actually.”

“Thanks,” Komaeda took two cookies out from the jar still sitting on the couch and handed it to Kotoko. He started walking away when Kotoko loudly cleared her throat. Komaeda sighed and stuffed his hand in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled five dollar bill. Kotoko snatched it from his hand and examined it. After a few seconds, she hummed, seeming to accept it, and tucked it into the pocket of her dress. She then went up the stairs to the second floor and into her room.

Komaeda snickered quietly, then made his way into the Towa’s bedrooms. He didn’t bother with the formality of suspense for them, just peeking silently under the bed. Jataro still let out a loud yell. Masaru conked him on the head to shut him up.

“Ouch…” Jataro moaned.

Slowly, they pulled themselves out from under the bed while Komaeda went up the stairs and into Nagisa’s room. It was a light blue, neatly decorated and covered wall to wall in bookshelves. An… excessive amount of bookshelves, to say the least. He looked around to see if any of them were standing out where Nagisa might be hiding. Komaeda assumed that out of all the kids, he would have been the hardest to find, if not for what Kotoko said.

Then, he heard a small creak. Komaeda turned to the bookshelf closest to him. He leaned over the side and smirked. Nagisa was huddled up in the corner of the room, looking up at him. He sniffed, then scoffed at him, rubbing his eyes. He crawled out of his hiding place, covering his face with his arm and growling at him before walking out of his room without a word. Komaeda watched him leave, puzzled.

Deciding to leave him be, Komaeda went and rechecked the living room to make sure Monaka wasn’t hiding there. She was in a wheelchair for christ sake, how hard could she be to find?

Seeing nothing, Komaeda decided that his next course of action was to seek in Monaka’s room. Before opening the door, he tried to imagine what it could be like. He’d only known Monaka for a few minutes, but he could tell just by looking at her that she was a cult leader in the making. He pictured a pentagram drawn onto her floor in red crayon with a paper-mache ram head glitter-glued to the ceiling. He imagined her bed was made of human baby’s bones and the sheets of human skin (both of which would be outrageously uncomfortable to sleep in) and the walls splattered with lamb’s blood and red finger paint. It was impossible, but also kind of reasonable for Monaka to have as far as Komaeda was concerned.

In actuality, on her plain, white door, Monaka’s room had a sign that simply read “Monaka :).” Yes, the smile was drawn on, too. Badly. All squiggly and childish. Kinda creepy, now that Komaeda thought about it.

 _I am going to regret going in there_ , Komaeda thought. He put his fingers to the door handle and-

“Yoooooou found me!”

Komaeda gasped, whipping around to see Monaka sitting perfectly calm and smiling in her wheelchair right behind him. She started clapping and laughing.

“W-Where did you-”

“Monaka was hiding in the cupboard, Mr. Servant!” Monaka giggled. “Monaka knew you wouldn’t be able to find her if she hid, though, so Monaka decided to make it easier for you and just come out!”

“But how did you-”

"You know, I heard what you said to Kotoko when you were looking for her," Monaka interjected. "Maybe the reason nobody ever found you was because they stopped looking. Maybe you're just that worthless, hm?"

"... Wh-"

“ _Jeeeez_ no wonder Nagisa doesn’t like you!” Monaka was still smiling. “You. Never. Stop. Talking. Do you?”

Komaeda didn’t answer. Monaka laughed again.

“I guess you can shut up sometimes, Mr. Servant!” She giggled. She turned her wheelchair around and headed into the kitchen. Then, she stopped, suddenly, and backed up. She leaned forward in her seat and beckoned Komaeda to come closer.

“Hey, Mr. Servant,” she called. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Um,” Komaeda looked away.

Monaka grabbed a fistful of Komaeda’s hair and yanked his face closer to hers. He yelped. Monaka looked dead into his eyes.

“ _Never_ ,” she whispered, her tone going cold and her smile disappearing, “go into Monaka’s room. Monaka’s room is for Monaka. Nobody else. Got it?”

Komaeda froze. His heart was beating out of his chest. He wanted to run away… How was… How was this kid doing this?!

Then, as suddenly as she was cold, Monaka melted back into a laugh and let Komaeda go. He pulled back as fast as he could and stared at her in horror.

“Great!” Monaka beamed. “Glad we could agree! See you later, Mr. Servant!”

With that, Monaka wheeled herself away.

Komaeda stood there for a solid five minutes eyes locked onto the spot where she left… _What the fuck was wrong with that kid?_

However, before he could fully get over his shock, Komaeda’s phone rang in his pocket. He looked at the screen to see who it was. He could not have been happier to see his face after what had just happened.

“Hinata?” Komaeda smiled.

“Guess again, fuck stick.”

Komaeda’s smile faded. Oh… _Them_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i sure do love cliffhangers. wonder who this asshole could be (spoiler: ya probably know who it is)


	8. Chapter 8

Komaeda paused for a moment, fixing his jacket collar. Then, he sighed. 

"Hello, Kamukura." Komaeda forced a smile from his end.

"That's better," Izuru hummed on the other end.

"How did you get a hold on Hinata's phone?" Komaeda asked.

"I came in to get my hairbrush that he stole and left at Nanami's house and told me to call you to check on you or whatever." Izuru was very clearly disinterested. They always were, weren't they?

"Why couldn't he just call me himself?"

"He said he had to kick Nanami's ass at Mortal Kombat first."

"Is he?"

"You tell me."

Izuru probably put the phone to the action and caught what Hinata was saying.

" _GOD FUCKING DAMN IT CHIAKI DON'T - YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO - FUCKING SHIT FUCK-_ "

"That does not sound like ass kicking," Komaeda noted.

"No shit," Izuru grumbled, putting the phone back up to his ear. "So are you okay, or what?"

"Tragically, I will survive."

"For the two of us." They took the phone away for a second, probably arguing with their brother over something, then sighed and went back to Komaeda. "He wants me to tell you to put the kids to bed if you haven't and just sleep. It's almost midnight."

"Wait, really?" Komaeda looked at the clock on his phone. "Shit yeah it is."

"You spend the night with a bunch of toddlers and you haven't been checking it every five seconds?"

"I've been a bit busy, Kamukura."

"Whatever. Make it back safe or something."

"How sentimental. I can feel the anguish in your voice."

"How predictably cliche of you to say. My ears were bleeding just thinking of it."

"Why did you have to turn out as annoying as Junko?"

"Junko? This whole time I was copying you."

With that, Izuru hung up.

Komaeda bitterly jammed his phone back into his pocket. He muttered, "How predictably predictably predictable of you to say, Izuru. Why don't you go predictably shove a rusty spatula up your predictably flat ass, you predictable prediction." Then, and looked around. 

"Kids?!" He called. 

This time, four of the kids ran up to him as soon as they were called. Monaka, on the other hand, slowly wheeled herself into view, hands clasped together and grinning. Komaeda shifted his feet uneasily.

"Time for bed," he said in the most parental voice he could muster.

"But we don't wanna!" Masaru whined.

"Don't whine. What are you, twelve?" Komaeda asked.

"We're ten," Jataro said.

"Oh yeah right." Komaeda put his hand on his hip. "Still. Bed."

"Why?" Kotoko looked up at Komaeda with the most shit-eating grin he'd ever seen.

He stared daggers into her, "No. I'm not playing into this."

"Why?" Kotoko's smirk grew wider.

"Don't."

"Why?"

"I'm not doing this."

"Why?"

 _Maybe if I don't talk, she'll shut up_ , Komaeda thought. A few seconds passed.

"Servant," Nagisa growled. "When we ask you a question, you must respond. That is your order. Now, why?"

"... Because I want you to stop talking." _Shit. No going back now, Nagito, you ass._

"Why?" 

"Because it'a annoying."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Why?"

"Just shut up!"

Kotoko giggled, "Why?"

"If I say you can stay up, will you quit asking me that?!"

Kotoko's smile looked almost inhuman. Komaeda looked away and sighed.

"Fine. Stay up. Just don't get into trouble."

"We make no such promises, Servant," Nagisa hummed, crossing his arms. Him and Kotoko went in the direction of the kitchen, Monaka leading them away. Masaru went up to his room, and Jataro just stood by Komaeda's side. They stayed there for a second while Komaeda checked his phone again.

"I'm sorry that they're so rude to you," Jataro said.

"You're part of the problem, too, you know," Komaeda didn't look at him. Jataro held his hands behind his back.

"... I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't really... You're okay... They bully you a lot, and I wish I could say something. But they're all mean to me, too. I thought... making fun of you would make them like me."

Komaeda turned to him now. Jataro sniffled.

Was he... crying?

Komaeda felt a tinge of something in his chest. Empathy was an asshole a lot of the time. He sighed and took a knee, looking at Jataro.

"... Hey," he began. "If it's any consolation, out of all you kids, you're my favorite." 

Jataro looked up from where he hid behind his sleeves, his eyes puffy and red.

"... Y-you don't mean that..." Jataro wept. "You're just pretending... Like all the others... I'm not good for anything... I'm w-worthless."

Komaeda paused. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't console Jataro. He didn't know how to... do this.

Then, Jataro started hugging him, crying still. Komaeda hesitated. Then, he slowly hugged him back, patting him gently. It felt... kind of nice. To get a hug, even if Komaeda wasn't the one hurting. They stayed like that for a while, just kind of hugging silently. And at that moment, Komaeda realized why he liked Jataro most.

He reminded him of himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> got a little angsty here whoops


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this in like... an hour? i wanted to make up for not updating in a while, so here ya go. 
> 
> segways are weird, also, just so you know

_ God _ , Komaeda was exhausted. Komaeda checked the clock again. Two in the morning. Shit, he should’ve gotten the kids to bed earlier. He already knew that why was he repeating himself? Regardless, what was even more strange was the fact that Takuichi hadn’t come back from his meeting by then. And where was his wife, by that measure? Monaka hadn’t mentioned her and neither did Towa. And didn’t she have an older brother? Haiji? Nah, he was in his twenties by now. Probably off at college or wallowing in his own self pity at a McDonald’s drive through window. That’s how Komaeda always pictured his twenties, at least.

Even so, the night was winding to an end. The kids had finally worn themselves out, tormenting him and being little nuisances for the past two hours. Now, Komaeda was sitting on the living room couch having no idea what to do until Takuichi came back.

_ Might as well call Hinata. Tell him I’m okay, _ he thought 

Komaeda went into his contacts and dialed his number. After two rings, there was an answer.

“Tell me this isn’t Kamukura,” Komaeda blurted.

“What the fuck do you want, Nagito?” Hinata growled.

“Just as much salt, though,” Komaeda sighed.

“It’s two in the fucking morning. Why the hell did you wake me up?” Hinata groaned. 

“Just wanted to let you know I’m doing okay. Kids are asleep, thank god.”

“Good. Fine. I’m glad you’re okay. I’m tired.”

“Wait.”

“What?!”

“What do I do?”

“... What?’

“What do I do now that they aren’t giving me head trauma?”

“What even-?! Nevermind. I dunno, just - tell Towa that they’re safe or whatever. Why are you asking me this?”

“I thought you’d know how to do this.”

“And why is that, Nagito?”

“Because kids like you.”

“I already told you. That girl was a year younger than us, and she was Chiaki’s cousin. And she was nice! So yeah, she liked me, because she was nice to us. I can’t help you there.”

“But why was she nice to us?”

“Why are you asking me this at two in the morning? Fuckin… Fuckin’ forget it. Call Towa. Tell him the kids are alright. Get some sleep. Call me in the morning.”

“Hinat-”

“Bye.”

He hung up.

Komaeda stared at his phone for a little while before sighing and putting it back. He went into the kitchen where he’d seen Towa leave his phone number. He typed it in and held the phone to his ear. It took two attempts, but he was able to get a hold of him.

“... What?” Takuichi asked, voice gruff.

“Mr. Towa, just wanted to let you know that the kids are in bed and alright.” Komaeda tapped his foot.

“... Good, good. Yeah. The kids,” Takuichi didn’t sound alright. 

“Mr. Towa, are you feeling okay?” Komaeda asked.

“What? Yeah… yeah I’m okay. Just… Don’t worry about it.”

“... Where are you right now?”

“None of your business!”

“You said that you were leaving for a meeting. It’s been six hours and you’re still away. You must have stopped somewhere.”

“Why don’t you bud out?”

“Strange you didn’t contact me either, let you know you were coming back late.”

“Jesus-! You know what? I’m coming over right… right now. Keep the kids safe… Goodbye, Mr. Komaeda.”

And he hung up.

_ That was odd _ , Komaeda noted.

“You wanna know what daddy was up to?”

Komaeda flinched, whipping around to see Monaka, sitting in her wheelchair, now wearing a nightgown. How did she even get that on? Monaka looked up at Komaeda with her big, wickedly creepy smile, hands held together.

“He didn’t sound right, did he?” Monaka asked. “Monaka knows why! She knows lots of things.”

“That’s nice, kid, but I don’t-”

Monaka suddenly sped forward, running over Komaeda’s foot and pinning it to the ground. Komaeda gasped in pain, and felt Monaka yank his hair in her direction.

“This seems familiar, doesn’t it?!” Monaka giggled. “You not listening and me having to tell you what to do! Wow! You really are a worthless, bottom feeding Servant, aren’t you?” She snicked. “Anyways, Monaka wants to tell you a secret. Daddy lost mommy a long time ago. Just after I was born. He was fine for a while. Then, I had my little accident,” Monaka then rolled her chair over Komaeda’s foot completely before pinning it again. Komaeda bent down to free himself before Monaka dug her nails into his arms. They felt like knives, forcing him away. 

“And Haiji dropped out of college,” Monaka continued. “And it looked like daddy was a failure. He still has his company, but it’s not what it used to be. Staff left. Consumers lost interest. Towa Industries has been heading in a downward spiral for years. And daddy knows it. He’s given up. He’s lost all hope for his career, his family, even his own life.

“So he goes out every so often to a bar just a ways down the street. Stays there for hours and then goes home with some dumb, blonde whore he met. Thinks she can replace mommy, like he even remembers her.

“And how does Monaka know all this? Well,” she leaned up to Komaeda’s face, grinning, “that’s Monaka’s little secret.” She giggled again before rolling off of his foot. 

“This was fun! Even if you are disgustingly ugly and useless, you’re really sweet when you finally shut up! I bet that if I try hard enough, I can get the others to want to see you again! And let’s be honest, it won’t be that hard. They may hate you, but they love me so much more. And they’ll do whatever I say. And if I say that I want you to babysit us again, they’ll cry and scream and beg until daddy finally lets you come over. I’ll even put in a good word with you! Won’t that be fun, Mr. Servant? You, here, listening to my stories and serving us?” Monaka started to spin. “I think it would be amazing!” When she stopped, she turned back to Komaeda. “I’m looking forward to that.” Komaeda couldn’t move. Monaka laughed and then turned around back to her door.

“Night night, Mr. Servant!” She giggled. “See you later!” She wheeled herself into her room and slowly closed it behind her. Komaeda gulped back his fear.

_ What was wrong with that little girl? _

The doorbell rang.

Komaeda walked to the door and opened it. Takuichi stood there, tall and calm, looking much more sober than Monaka had got him anticipating.

“Thank you kindly, Mr. Komaeda,” Takuichi cleared his throat, walking inside. “You can go home now, I suppose.”

“Thanks, Mr. Towa,” Komaeda sighed. Halfway out the door, he turned around. “Hey, wasn’t I supposed to get paid for this?” Takuichi made an inquisitive noise before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handful of dollars.

“My apologies,” he muttered. Komaeda took them from his hand. His eyes widened. 

“Five hundred dollars?!” He almost screamed. Takuichi hushed him, covering an ear with one hand. 

_ Right, right, the kids. _

“I usually only pay Miss Junko four,” Takuichi said. “But seeing as everything's in order, and you came on such short notice, I decided to tip you.”

“Holy  _ shit _ ,” Komaeda was awestruck. He looked back up to see Takuichi scowling. Komaeda cleared his throat and pocketed the cash. “Y-yeah. Thanks again, Mr. Towa.”

“No trouble at all,” Takuichi rubbed his eyes. “Go on now.”

“Have a good night, Mr. Towa,” Komaeda walked out of the house and into the driver’s seat of his car. Just as he started the engine, he realized something. The vase Masaru broke to lure him into the interrogation room: he never cleaned that up. It should have been in perfect view of Takuichi as he walked into the house. Why didn’t he pay any mind to it? 

Was… Was Monaka right? Komaeda had no reason to trust her, but she sounded dead serious, even if she was being playful in her mannerisms. But Takuichi didn’t smell like liquor or act drunk, at least from what Komaeda’d seen of Junko when it was… What was happening?

What was really going on in that house?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aw shit we got some real scooby doo mysteries up in here that y'all probably already know because you already played/watched someone play ultimate despair girls whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait. i've been a little busy and out of inspiration for a while. thankfully, i'm back and better than ever.
> 
> so... did you miss me?

Hinata walked into his room and found Komaeda staring at his pet cat. He was almost too confused to say anything, at first. He knew Komaeda was coming over with Chiaki that day, but he wasn't expecting this to be the first thing he saw. Understandably, his first reaction was:

"Nagito, what the hell are you doing?"

"I read a book once that maintaining eye contact with cats and then blinking very slowly establishes a bond between the two of you," Komaeda replied, matter-of-factly. "I think it's working."

"Dude, she's just looking at you," Hinata threw his bag on his bed, taking a seat next to the cat and scratching the scruff of her neck. "I'm not sure that means anything."

"Hinata, I want to be friends with your cat. Give me this."

"She already does like you! If she didn't she would have clawed your eyes out by now."

"Just making sure."

"... Okay." Hinata gave the cat one more stroke along her back and turned to Komaeda. "So what do you wanna do when Chiaki gets here?"

"Is she bringing her DS?" Komaeda asked, still staring at the cat. Hinata picked her up and set her on the floor where she scampered away. 

"Probably," Hinata replied. 

"I kinda wanna pick up on my Animal Crossing save," Komaeda said. "It makes me feel all warm and happy. It's nice."

"And while you're doing that, I'm gonna be destroying Nanami's ass at Mortal Kombat."

"Destroying her ass?"

"Dude, no. She's like my sister."

"Either way, she's gonna wreck you at Mortal Kombat. I heard about what happened last time."

"Did Izuru tell you?!"

Komaeda made a zipping the lips motion. Hinata growled.

"Relax, Mr. Macho," Komaeda stretched out on the covers. "You're dreaded secret that you suck at Mortal Kombat is safe with me."

"Whatever," Hinata sighed.

Suddenly, the room was filled with a blaring scream. Komaeda flinched, jumping straight off of the bed. Hinata, however, wasn't phased and instead reached for his phone. Once Komaeda regained his bearings, he realized that what was playing was the chorus of "Crawling In My Skin" by Linkin Park on full volume, right by his ear.

 _"What the **shit**!?_ " Komaeda yelled.

"I changed Izuru's ringtone to fit them better," Hinata explained. He accepted the call and put the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, dude?" He asked. Hinata scrunched up his nose. "Who is this?" His eyes widened. "How did you get this phone?!" A pause. "What do you mean you broke the window?!" Hinata stood up. "No! And I don't care what you offer me, I'm not-!" Another pause. Hinata's face relaxed. "How much?" Hinata's started scowling again. "Fine. But you better fix my window, too, or I'm gonna kick your fucking ass."

Hinata passed the phone to Komaeda, "It's for you."

Komaeda looked at the phone cautiously, then took it.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Nagito!"

 _Oh no_.

"Enoshima, what did I say about calling me again?!" Komaeda yelled.

"Technically, you just said I can't call _you_ ," Junko hummed. "I called Hajime."

"Why not use your own phone then?" Komaeda growled.

"Because Hajime and Chiaki both blocked my number three days ago," Junko still sounded like it was smiling. "And you wouldn't pick up a call from Izzy anyways."

"... Fair enough," Komaeda conceded. "What do you want this time?"

"I just got a call from Takuichi Towa. My boss, remember?"

" _Oh_ , I remember that night quite vividly. As I will for the rest of my life."

"Spare me the sob story, Nagito. The kids have been begging you to come back since they woke up today. Now, I don't know why they'd want someone like _you_ , but you must've done a pretty good job for them to want you back."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass."

"They're not gonna stop whining until you come over~!"

"Good. Let them suffer."

"Where's your empathy, Nagito?"

"Where's yours?"

"Took a train to Hanamura and never looked back. Do it."

"No."

"I will blow up Hajime's phone with texts asking you to come over, and he can't block me because it's from his sibling."

"And what happens when Izuru gets back to his apartment? Or the landlord finds out that you _smashed his fucking window in?"_

"Because then, I'm gonna have Takuichi record their crying and send it to you personally so you have to listen to it." 

"And what if I break my phone?"

"You won't. You use it as a coping device."

Komaeda snarled.

"If I say yes, will you _shut up?"_

"Absolutely."

"Deal. Is it tonight?"

"7 'o clock, Nagito~! Good lu~ck!"

"Go fuck yourself, Enoshima." Komaeda hung up. 

"Hey, boys, I brought slushies and my DS who wants it first?" Chiaki had just walked in the house. Komaeda and Hinata looked at her for a second. She froze. "... Am I missing anything?"

"I just got fucked over for the second time this week," Komaeda explained. Chiaki nodded slowly. 

"Anyways... DS?"

"Sure."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit how long has it been since i updated this???? im so sorry but jesus christ i should have been able to post this so long ago whoo

Komaeda pulled into the Towa's driveway right on time. In the seat beside him, Chiaki was on her phone playing Bejeweled (or some other game similar, Komaeda wasn't sure). He fixed his hair in the mirror and turned to her. 

 

"You didn't have to come along with me," he said.

 

"Hush," Chiaki put down her phone and looked at him. "You said you had a hard time babysitting the kids. I'm great with that sorta thing. I wanna help you out."

 

"I really don't need it."

 

"You want someone to help you out, and I know it. You wouldn't have let me come along in the first place if you didn't."

 

"It's just - Nevermind."

 

"What do you wanna say?'

 

"Nothing. Doesn't matter anyways now. Let's just... get this over with, okay?"

Chiaki stared at him for a second.

 

"Yeah." She took out her phone again and opened the car door. "You coming?"

Komaeda giggled softly and hopped out, making sure Chiaki didn’t trip on her way up the stairs. While she was preoccupied with her game, he rang the doorbell.

Immediately, the door swung open and an exasperated Takuichi walked out. He scoffed at Komaeda, kicking away one of the kids, Masaru, off of his leg. Then he caught notice of Chiaki.

 

“Who’s the girl?” He asked.

 

“Pleasure to see you again as well, Mr. Towa,” Komaeda said.

 

“I’m Chiaki. I’m Nagito’s friend,” she replied. 

 

Takuichi sighed.

 

“I won’t be paying you, too, if you’re just going to imprint on them like he did,” he growled.

 

Chiaki threw up a peace sign. Takuichi sighed.

 

“Just don’t get them into trouble,” he barked. Without saying anything else, he ushered them in and slammed the door behind him. 

Masaru, picking himself off the floor, looked up at them. His eyes started sparkling.

 

“An angel…” He stared at Chiaki. She put her phone in her pocket and smiled at him.

 

“Hi,” she hummed. She gave his head a little pat and looked around the room. Masaru took a deep breath and looked up to the ceiling.

 

“I’m never washing my hair again,” he whispered, voice high pitched and dreamy.

 

Komaeda side-stepped him and sat down on the couch, watching Chiaki explore.

 

“Whoa…” She gaped. 

 

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” He asked her.

 

“Yeah,” she smiled back at him. Chiaki looked back to Masaru. “Aren’t there supposed to be more of you kids?”

 

Masaru snapped himself out of his haze.

 

“Who? Those losers?! Nah. They don’t have anything on me. Don’t worry about ‘em, sweetcakes.”

 

“Sweetcakes?” Chiaki blinked. Masaru’s face went red. He started stammering. 

 

“I-I hear guys in movies say that all the time to g-girls,” he tried to explain. “Old ones, though… N-not the guys! The movies! I-um… W-what was I saying again? Haha…” 

 

Chiaki looked at him for a long second, then took out her phone again and sat down. Masaru rubbed the back of his neck. He turned to the hallway and ran to the stairs.

 

“Hey, guys, Servant’s back!” He yelled up.

 

“Servant?” Chiaki asked.

 

“Just something the little demons call me,” Komaeda replied. 

 

From the second floor, the thud of pitter-pattering feet sounded through the house. Then, rushing down, Nagisa, Kotoko, and Jataro entered the room, Jataro running and tackling Komaeda to the ground.

 

“Mr. Servant!” He cheered, hugging him. “You’re back!” 

 

Komaeda couldn’t breath.

 

“Okay, okay, that’s enough love,” Chiaki gently separated the two of them. She looked over the couch and saw the other two, Nagisa scowling at Jataro and Kotoko with her hands on her hips. “Who are all of you?”

 

Each kid gave their respective introduction, Nagisa asserting himself as the leader, Masaru once again getting much too flustered for both Chiaki and Komaeda’s comfort, Kotoko complementing Chiaki on her “adorbsness” and Jataro, still clinging to Komaeda’s leg, gentler this time. Chiaki smiled at them all.

 

“I’m Chiaki Nanami,” she said. “I’m… what do you call Nagito?”

 

“Servant,” Nagisa didn’t bother looking at her. 

 

“- Servant’s friend,” Chiaki continued. “I’m here to help him out.”

 

“How does someone as ugly as Servant have someone as adorbs as you for a friend?” Kotoko asked.

 

“Komaeda isn’t ugly,” Chiaki said. “And even if he was, he’s nice to me. Why wouldn’t I be his friend?”

 

“You don’t have to-”

 

“Whatever,” Kotoko cut Komaeda off. She looked around. “Where’s Monaka? She’s the one who wanted Servant to come over in the first place.”

 

“Monaka’s here!”

 

From her room, the devil in a wheelchair appeared in the flesh. She turned the corner and smiled far too big and wide for her tiny face, eyes open wide.

 

“Servant’s back! Servant’s back! Servant’s back!” She spun around, hands in the air. “And he brought a friend! Yay!”

 

Chiaki smiled.

 

“Nice to meet you, Monaka.” She kneeled down to her. “I’m Chiaki.”

 

“Ahhh! Her voice is so pretty!” Monaka beamed. “You must have been Servant’s master before us! Hypnotizing him with how pretty your voice is!”

 

Chiaki squinted.

 

“No, Komaeda’s my friend. We’ve known each other since we were kids.”

 

Monaka pouted.

 

“That’s a shame,” she sighed. “You missed a big opportunity, Miss Chiaki. Servant’s such a loser, he’d do anything you say.”

 

“Well, lucky for the both of us, I learned that every human being has a purpose in this world. That nobody is worthless enough to be reduced to a slave just for existing.” Chiaki’s smile faded. “And that’s not going to change just because some kid thinks one of my best friends is just their servant.”

 

Monaka blinked. Then, she started crying.

 

“Wahhh!!” She whined. The other kids rushed to her.

 

“Monaka!” Nagisa called. “A-are you okay?”   
  


“Miss *hic* Chiaki *said* I *hic* was *hic* mean!!!” Monaka screamed.

 

“I never-!”   
  


“We won’t let her hurt you again, Monaka, we promise!” Kotoko sat beside her, holding her hand. 

 

“Yeah, Monaka! We love you,” Jataro said.

 

Monaka sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

 

“It’s okay,” she said, sadly. “Miss Chiaki just doesn’t know her place yet.” 

 

“... Do we have to call her Servant, too?” Masaru asked.

 

“No,” Monaka shook her head. She shot her head up, smiling bright, as if nothing ever happened. “But ~ if she thinks that her and Servant are equals, she’ll be called… Maid Chiaki!”

 

“Um-”

 

“What a good idea, Monaka!” Kotoko laughed. “You always have the best ideas.’”

 

“I know.” Monaka poked her cheek, cutely. She yawned. “Monaka’s sleepy from talking to daddy all day. Monaka’s going to take a nap for a little bit! Wake me up before Servant and Maid Chiaki leaves, though!”

 

The other kids waved goodbye to Monaka, wishing her goodnight as she rolled herself into her room again. They then split off, running around the house, Kotoko and Nagisa in her rooms while Masaru and Jataro ran into the kitchen. Chiaki turned to Komaeda.

 

“I’m sorry I underestimated them."

  
“It’s okay. Let’s just round them up again.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> each time i make an addition to this series it takes longer and lemme just say that i am sorry? but yeah im writing this at 1 am so fuck me

"I'm just saying that if Izuru wasn't a douche, I'd fuck 'em," Komaeda said, scrolling through his phone.

"The only reason you don't like them is because you think they should have cried when MCR broke up and they didn't." Chiaki's eyes were glued to her DS in a heated Pokemon battle against a Stuful, who she was going to catch if it killed her.

"It was a national tragedy, Chiaki. Don't undermine my outdated emo tastes."

"Okay, but didn't they tag along when our class went to the laser tag place back in high school when we snuck Hinata in?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"I thought you two fucked there, didn't you?"

Komaeda choked.

" _Where did you hear that_?" He coughed out a lung. 

"Mahiru got pictures of him pressing up against you, shooting your suit, and then walking away." Chiaki looked up. "She said you fell onto your knees and passed out in bliss."

"Chiaki."

"Ye?"

"Remind me that the next time I see Koizumi, I'm gonna either thank her for raising people's expectations of me or lowering Izuru's because honestly I am fine with both of those alternatives."

"Didn't you hear about that, though? It was in the school newspaper."

"I don't know? Maybe it was when I was suspended for a month?"

"Maybe. Hey, Nagito, can you play for a second? I really want a shiny Mimikyuu and I need some of your luck. If you wanna, of course."

Komaeda chuckled.

"The magic touch?" He asked. Chiaki smiled, and pursed her lips, cutely, reaching our her DS to Komaeda.

Komaeda snickered again and tapped the DS in Chiaki's hand with a little "boop" noise. The battle music started again as Chiaki pulled the console back to her face. She gasped and her eyes lit up. She quickly put her DS on the couch's arm chair and hugged Komaeda with all her might. 

"Thank you!" She cheered. She wasn't that strong. Komaeda laughed as she squeezed him. She pulled away and gave him a pap on the head, to which Komaeda smiled, and reached back for her DS. "I am going to cherish him forever."

Throwing out a quick ball, Chiaki waited as the shiny Mimikyuu shook inside of it. After five shakes, the ball made a satisfying "click" and the Mimikyuu was caught! Chiaki beamed, kissing her screen and nuzzling up next to Komaeda, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You're awesome, you know that?" She smiled as she looked through her new friend's summary. 

"Ah, I wouldn't say awesome," Komaeda said. "But if that's how you think of me, I can't exactly change your mind. You're smarter than me, so you'd have better judgement of character anyway." Chiaki sighed.

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Disguising self deprecation with compliments. You do this all the time."

"Do I? Sorry..."

"Don't be... Nagito, I don't know what it's like in your shoes, and you know that. But I know that you aren't worthless. Not even a little bit. You're smart and cunning and funny and I really, really care about you, okay?"

"... Let's not have this talk right now." Komaeda looked away.

Chiaki took a deep breath and turned back to her game. Then, she smirked.

"You know what I'm gonna name this Mimikyuu?" She asked. Komaeda's eyes widened.

"Ah, I don't know. What's his name?"

"Nagito," Chiaki replied. "Because you both have low self esteem and deserve all the love in the world." She pulled her knees up onto the couch and sat on them. "And I love you a lot. You're my best friend, you nerd." She hugged him again and punched in the name of the Mimikyuu into the box. Komaeda stared for a moment, then smiled. 

"... Thank you," he said.

" 's what friends are for." Chiaki went back to her game. "Anyways, you wanna talk about Izuru being hot again?"

"God, no. Forget I said I'd fuck him, alright?"

"These lips are sealed, you wonderful piece of cloud fluff."

"You're adorable."

"You're more adorable, you freakin' goob."

" _HEY SERVANT_!"

Komaeda and Chiaki turned around to find Masaru standing in the walkway, clearly brimming with rage. He then ran up to them and leaped into the air.

 _"NO ONE LAYS A HAND ON MY LOVE_!" He shouted. 

He overshot the couch by a mile and landed face first onto the shag carpet. Chiaki hissed. After a moment, Masaru raised his hand in the air, thumbs up, before it fell back to the ground with a thump. He stayed there for a little while. Chiaki tried to poke him back to life, but he didn't move. Masaru ended up laying there for an hour before the other kids even cared to notice and by then Chiaki had leveled her Mimikyuu up by five and Komaeda was about to fall asleep on her shoulder.

That is, until he was whacked in the face with a baseball bat. If he had been more alert at the time, he probably would have cursed himself for it. What was this? The fourth time? Probably. Oh well. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i did love the despair arc and yes the kamukome scene was Perfection so i had to incorporate it


End file.
